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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30111387">In Other News: Snow's Cold</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bad_Medic/pseuds/Shut-Up-Ginger'>Shut-Up-Ginger (Bad_Medic)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, Gen, Mentions of past drug use, Modern AU, but one where they're all still aliens lol</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:29:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,939</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30111387</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bad_Medic/pseuds/Shut-Up-Ginger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Maul gets stuck in the cold trying to run an errand, so Obi-Wan offers assistance.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Darth Maul</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In Other News: Snow's Cold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes in life, you’ll meet a person who just </span>
  <em>
    <span>sticks</span>
  </em>
  <span> with you. No matter how brief that meeting was, or how little they actually affected anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan’s person has always been </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maul</span>
  </em>
  <span>. A drug addicted zabrak kid who he met when they both attended reformation school together as teenagers. They didn’t get along whatsoever, and it was ultimately a relief when Maul got kicked out, because it meant <em>he</em> didn’t have to deal with him anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But now Obi-Wan’s an adult, and a </span>
  <em>
    <span>professor</span>
  </em>
  <span> at that. He deals with lots of kids, including troubled ones, and it’s hard not to </span>
  <em>
    <span>wonder</span>
  </em>
  <span> about Maul. Where he went, how his life ended up, and if maybe he could’ve been a little nicer to him back then.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sometimes the only thing a troubled teen needs is someone who cares about them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But of course, he hasn’t seen the guy since he was a kid, and honestly thought he’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> cross paths with him again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So when he starts to see him around town, he briefly thinks he’s going insane. Walking near campus, shopping at the grocery store, catching the train, and so on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They haven’t actually come face-to-face yet, so when he spots Maul trudging along a snow laden sidewalk </span>
  <em>
    <span>today</span>
  </em>
  <span>,  it seems like an inevitability. The man shivering against the sleet and wind to such an extent that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> to intervene.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul's not dressed warmly in the least. His ungloved hands are clasped over his ears like they’re cold, and aside from a relatively thin oversized sweater, he has no real layers on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His </span>
  <em>
    <span>shoes</span>
  </em>
  <span> aren’t ideal either. Standard sneakers, which </span>
  <em>
    <span>must</span>
  </em>
  <span> be waterlogged and freezing his toes off by now, judging by his clumsy steps.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan pulls up on the shoulder of the street and rolls his crappy manual window down with an embarrassing screech, calling awkwardly through the half open slit, “Hey! Need a ride?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Maul just nods, impossibly relieved as he steps over. Not questioning who’s come to assist him, and not showing any sign of wariness whatsoever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which means he’s probably been in the cold a while. Obi-Wan knows from experience that extreme weather can blow all common sense right out the window, whether it be from the temperature, or just the fact that you can't really see anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span><em>Maul</em> probably just wants somewhere warm to sit for five minutes, and the thought of walking any longer would probably sound like torture to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’s even too cold to get the knob working properly, it turns out, so Obi-Wan has to lean over and pop it for him, wondering how a zabrak could end up outside like this to </span>
  <em>
    <span>begin</span>
  </em>
  <span> with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They have a much lower cold tolerance than humans do, so they usually bundle up even when it’s just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>cool out. Let alone full on winter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s so much </span>
  <em>
    <span>snow</span>
  </em>
  <span> on him that the seat and floor is powdered with it when he ducks inside, teeth chattering enough that one of his fangs has nicked his lip, blood crystallizing against it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> He </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be high. Because there’s no other explanation for this sheer display of poor decision making.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re Kenobi.” He says, suddenly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The one and only.” He jokes, not sure how the guy could have possibly recognized him with the beard, or if he just knows him from the campus and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> reform school. “Where’re you headed?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s this moment where Maul continues to stare, but then he mumbles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was trying to find a payphone-- or a library.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s closed on Mondays.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” a blank unfocused stare. “I figured that out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um… do you want me to drive you home?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He deflates impressively, like he’s melted under the weight of some unspoken anxiety.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is everything alright?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s the least convincing lie he's ever been told.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright. We’ll go to </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> house then, and figure all this out from there? Sound good?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin’s gonna kill him if he finds out. Because if Maul is anything like he used to be, he’s liable to rob them blind as soon as he steps inside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he looks so miserable, and what the hell do they even have that’s valuable? The television? They’ve used it twice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you drink tea?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine.” He repeats, harsher, even though it’s not really an answer. But he doesn’t actually argue with the plan that’s been laid out, so Obi-Wan turns the heat on max, and starts driving again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They pull up to the apartments, and Maul doesn’t move, staring warily like his brain has finally started to catch up with what’s going on. "You're sure about this?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, I have a good furnace inside.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He relents, but only when Obi-Wan opens the passenger door for him, letting the cold air back in and making him hiss in displeasure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The apartment is drafty, but the electric fireplace more than makes up for it as Maul takes a seat in its vicinity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a time he scoots even closer, then onto the floor, and finally across his stomach, head pillowed in his arms as he slowly dries off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s almost too easy to forget he’s there. He doesn’t really talk, or fuss, or stir, and his energy is much like a cat’s. Mellow and low as he watches the artificial flames through the artificial grate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan brews some tea, grabs Anakin’s pot of sugarcubes, and carries them out to where Maul is, saying quietly so that he doesn’t startle him, “I could get you something dry to change into. We look like we’d wear about the same size.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"<em>I’m fine</em>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not. I’m getting you some pajamas.” And maybe he uses his student counseling voice, but it seems to work because Maul doesn’t argue when he wanders off to follow through with it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anakin comes bustling in not long after, Ahsoka on his heels with her phone open to some mass DM group or another, and a focused expression on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t expected them back anytime soon, and certainly not still with Ahsoka, so he stills awkwardly in the entryway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought you were at a birthday party today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ani rolls his eyes. “Postponed. Family drama. Feral cancelled so Savage wouldn’t drive everyone insane with his nagging.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This draws her from her texts, scolding, “Don’t be mean.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not! That’s literally what he said!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shakes her head, but doesn't chide him further. "Their big brother went out a little while ago, and they’re worried about the weather because he’s late and not answering his phone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t aware they </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> another brother.” Obi-Wan says… pieces starting to click together in his mind. It certainly makes sense. “Would his name happen to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maul</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ani grimaces. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, well… He’s in the living room.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you serious?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He was walking around in a henley!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So then maybe he should learn to dress properly!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ahsoka elbows him in further warning. "Quit it. I’ll tell Feral so they can come pick him up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan nods in approval, lacing his hands together in quiet thought. “Did the family have an argument?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, he was just out running an errand. But then the storm blew in.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ani’s on his toes now, trying to peer out into the living room, but the sofa is blocking his view of Maul and he repeats, “I can’t believe you showed him our house.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He's <em>fine</em>." He promises-- hoping it's not a lie. “I’m ordering pizza. What kind do you want?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pizza?!” He perks, just young enough that this is still a perfectly reasonable thing to deflect the subject to. Though maybe only because he's a broke college student. "You </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> order pizza.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-- </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maul watches the two new arrivals suspiciously, saying sometime after their food has arrived, “You two went to school with Feral.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ani takes a bite of his food, sizing him up with a snort. “On the rare occasions he actually showed up, anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His grades were fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well a genius’ only weakness is participation credits. Right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ahsoka snorts too, mumbling, “He can’t have missed<em> that</em> many days. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>saw him in study hall.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Only cause he went to go and </span>
  <em>
    <span>flirt</span>
  </em>
  <span> with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?! No way! He was a senior!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He doesn't acknowledge that retort, cutting it off to read over Ahsoka’s shoulder. “Savage says you’re supposed to be picking up Feral’s birthday present. Do you need a ride somewhere?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He deflates immediately. “I already picked it up...and then I lost it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>lost </span>
  </em>
  <span>it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A miserable sulk. “Yes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay...</span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Someone stole it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan blinks in surprise. “You were mugged?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. The buses were late and I got cold so I started walking to get somewhere warm, and then I remembered I had a bag-- but it wasn’t there when I went back to check-- and then I tried to go to the library to call the transport district’s lost and found-- because my phone was in the bag too-- but they were closed, and...” He seems genuinely distraught, stammering faintly, “Savage’s been saving for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>year</span>
  </em>
  <span> to buy him that present-- they’ll think I took the money for myself and I don’t have any way to replace it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ani looks like he wants to say something less than polite, but reigns himself in, only snapping, “Maybe you should’ve dressed for the weather then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It should’ve only been a short trip! The bus was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>hour </span>
  </em>
  <span>late!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan grimaces, brushing him on the shoulder reflexively, but earning a flinch for his trouble. “What was his present?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Some game system. I don’t know much about it. I just had to pay and pick it up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll call the transport district for you then and see if one of the drivers picked it up. Do you have the info on the item?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. It was in my phone..”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright. ‘Soka, see if you can get that info from Feral or Savage-- without telling them what’s up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing. We’ll just say we’re on the way to get it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span> call the lost and found number, but isn’t surprised when they really don’t have any leads, quietly reporting the matter to the police, but otherwise knowing it’s probably not going to pan out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He'll just buy a new one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His wage is decent thanks to the money he earns off his side hustles, and a few hundred dollars out of his savings won’t kill them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s hard to say whether Maul is telling the truth about losing it, or if he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> just take the money, but he honestly doesn't think it really <em>matters</em>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He's known Feral for a number of years, and Savage as of recently, so it's the least he can do for them. They don't have much money, and he'd hate for this to ruin Feral's birthday-- and maybe even their finances.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So he sends Ahsoka out under the guise of getting it from the transportation officers-- grateful she finally has her license because like </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span> would Ani humor this whim. Giving her money to purchase a new one, and just hoping it's <em>available </em>somewhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul looks like he could </span>
  <em>
    <span>cry</span>
  </em>
  <span> when he's told that they ‘found’ it, even when they say that they </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> find his phone, and it’s weird how morally conflicting this whole situation is.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ahsoka is prompt, and by the time </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> gets back, Savage is already on his way, arriving barely five minutes after she’s stepped through the door to give Maul the item.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He barely has time to look it over before Savage is being let in by Anakin, bustling in to scold, “You didn’t wear your </span>
  <em>
    <span>coat</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I went </span>
  <em>
    <span>two</span>
  </em>
  <span> blocks down the road!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Five </span>
  <em>
    <span>feet</span>
  </em>
  <span> is too far in this kind of weather!” And he pulls his own coat off, throwing it over Maul’s frame, even though he’s right beside the fire. “Why didn’t you text us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thing dwarfs him, and he petulantly snuggles into it like a child.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dropped my phone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fierfek. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Alright. I’m just glad you’re safe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The discussion is interrupted by Feral now, arriving in the entryway to call out, “Are we playing nice or should I be embarrassed and ask to go home?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Savage casts him a stern side glance. “ You just want to go home and open your presents.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?! </span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>! ” He teases, stepping farther in to meet them in the living room. “But also it’s my birthday so I should get a say in the schedule."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul opens his mouth to speak, but Ahsoka interrupts from the kitchen, “You can open the ones from Ani and I!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young man perks up immediately. “Really?! Savage, can I open them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re an adult, Feral, open them when you want to. But, oh--” He flounders. “Let me get my camera.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Psh. Sap.” He waits though, as Ahsoka grabs his presents, and Anakin sidles in to give him a shoulder punch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You planning on doing a 21st birthday bender?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hah!” He punches back. “We’re gonna have a freaking pinata when this weather clears up, and icecream cake."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So that's a no then?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You know it."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, alright." He steps back as Ahsoka shoves over a flat wrapped package. "Now ppen your present.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I swear, if it’s booze.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And he chuckles, peeling at the paper, only to have Ahsoka starts singing, “Happy birthday to you--!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh no, no singing!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Happy birthday to you!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> And Savage promptly joins in, turning the boy from a normal golden-orange to a thoroughly embarrassed red as he tries to hide his face from the camera. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay shut up, I’m opening it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Ani snickers at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We could’ve bought you a really long sappy card and made you read it to everyone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t get </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> ideas.” And he pauses a moment to unwrap the gift, then giving a small squeak of delight, “Aw! Graph paper! I always need that!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seriously?! You’re not supposed to like the joke present!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How is it a joke-- it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>useful</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Told you he’d like it, Ani. You owe me ten dollars.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anakin scowls at Ahsoka. “This </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be staged!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if I just like graph paper?” Feral asks, smiling giddily as she produces a few more presents from behind her back and hands them over as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here’s the real ones.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” He gushes, opening them a little more gently, producing a few books with increasing delight. “Aw, you guys know how boring I am!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And they’re textbooks, but written in Zabraki, which had to have been difficult to get. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Judging by the artwork on the fronts, they’re also about computer science.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Feral holds them out for Savage to see, and his older brother smiles, “Enroll in a school without me knowing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hell no-- I’m teaching myself!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which is pretty par for the course for him, and probably a good thing for their budget. Obi-Wan glances over to see what Maul’s doing, checking out the contents of their other bag to make sure nothing is amiss with the console.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He must approve of it, because he hands it to Savage-- who then hands it over to Feral and says, “Alright, there’s the big one. From us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, these textbooks are like fifty dollars each--” And then he peeks inside. “Wait! Are you pranking me?! There better be a console in this box or I’m biting you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul snorts. “There is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And yeah, Obi-Wan thinks he made the right call on this one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Feral’s delight is priceless, and it's nice to see Savage in a good mood for once as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the excitement has passed, Ahsoka and Anakin head out with Feral to do whatever it is the kid likes, leaving the rest of them to their own company.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Savage stays behind to work on some homework questions with Obi-Wan, which he meant to answer earlier when he emailed him, but didn’t get the chance to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul, meanwhile, resumes his vigil by the fireplace, returning to his mostly-not-there state, and only appearing at Obi-Wan's side when Savage goes to the bathroom near the end of the evening.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You bought a new console.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He jumps a good foot at the sudden voice, squawking, “What the kriff!? Warn a guy next time!" A beat as he processes the words. "Wait-- what gave it away?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ours was second hand. The box was plain.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “Damnit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What's your angle?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was just being <em>nice</em>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He seems to consider that, but Savage returns and he isn’t able to press the matter further, clearly not mad enough to out his <em>own</em> mistake by continuing the discussion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy seems to know something's up though, and frowns. “Maul…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you’re gonna threaten my professor at least pick the one who </span>
  <em>
    <span>doesn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> give me good grades.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not <em>threatening</em> him."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He was trying to convince me that he owes me a debt because I gave him a ride.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sometimes people just want to help, Maul. I’m sure you cut a very miserable figure all alone out there, and it's not worth fretting over."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Savage's gentle tone seems to mollify the man in the end, because he begrudgingly nods, pulling from the table and muttering, “Fine.” then to Obi-Wan. “We’ll sort this out later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Watch my answer be the same.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Brother.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Quit harassing my professor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If anything he’s harassing </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maul!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s time to go home!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>The rest of the conversation </span> <span>is lost to the door slamming behind them as they leave, and Obi-Wan only hopes Maul doesn’t tell Savage about the replacement present. Because he </span><em><span>really </span></em><span>doesn’t want this to turn into a </span><em><span>thing</span></em><span>.</span></p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Everything I touch turns to fluff</p></blockquote></div></div>
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